Carson McCullers published The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, her first and most famous novel, at the tender age of 23. Even though she was a successful writer at a young age, McCullers herself didn't have such a happy life. In fact, she had a pretty miserable marriage, and she suffered throughout her life from health problems.

But that didn't stop her from writing. She followed up the success of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter with other novels set in the Deep South. Her Southern Gothic world is full of outsider characters who explore and question Southern social values and ideals.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

At the center of this novel is John Singer, a mute man who ends up befriending four characters who live in the same Southern town where he lives.

In true Southern Gothic style, the novel ends tragically. People, including John Singer, just can't seem to find a ray of hope in the depressing, devastated small town world of the South.

Reflections in a Golden Eye

This novel wasn't very well received when it was first published in 1941. Considering that it dealt with a number of taboo issues for the time, including homosexuality, that's not a huge surprise.

Like McCullers's other work, this novel depicts characters living on the social margins, forced to contend with a close-minded Southern society. Though it's not as famous as her first novel, Reflections in a Golden Eye shares many of that novel's preoccupations: loneliness, isolation, depression, and social decay.

Shmoops:

Carson McCullers is great at depicting outsider characters. Here's an analysis of John Singer, an outsider who also happens to be the protagonist of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

McCullers's second novel, Reflections in a Golden Eye, dealt with a whole bunch of taboo social issues, including homosexuality. Check out the novel here.